Partners in crime
by tinystarkitten
Summary: A girl claiming to know Dark shows up at Daisuke's door one day. The thing is, though, Dark knows her too. Why? Because she's his partner in crime. Things follow. bits of TakeshiOC and DarkOC.
1. Hello again Haruko!

Yay! I finally wrote a DNAngel story! Just to tell you, when it comes around, the DarkxOC is going to be one sided, so don't worry your pretty little heads you fangirls.

"Speaking"

_**Voices in Daisuke's/Dark's head**_

_Thoughts

* * *

_

A girl stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the blue sky above her. She tucked a strand of her brown and purple hair behind her ear as a light breeze blew.

"I hope he's been doing all right so far..." She said gently before walking away.

**MEANWHILE!**

Daisuke sat in his room painting a picture of a girl. Her back was turned, but part of her face was visible in a mirror she was gazing into as she brushed her long, brown hair. He had originally meant it to be a picture of Risa, but it turned out to be a different girl entirely.

**_Hey, who's that?_** Dark asked when he woke up and saw Daisuke's painting.

_It was supposed to be Risa, but it's not anymore. I guess it's no one._ Daisuke replied as he added another highlight to her hair. Dark looked at it and smiled.

_**It's never no one Daisuke. Every time an artist creates something, it does exist, no matter how fantastical it seems. Whether in real life, or just in its creator's mind-**_

_You can sound really philosophical when you want to, you know that?_ Daisuke interrupted, putting another highlight on her hand.

_**Well, I've been an art thief for longer than anyone you know has been alive, so I think I know a thing or two about the contents of paintings.**_

_That had nothing to do with what I said._ Daisuke countered. He heard Dark curse under his breath as he put a last touch on his painting. "There." He said.

"Daisuke! Come downstairs for a minute please!" Rang Emiko's voice. Daisuke put down his brush and palette.

"Okay, coming!" He answered as he dashed down the stairs. _I wonder what mom could want._

**_She's probably just going to tell us that we have to steal something tonight._** Dark assumed. Daisuke mostly ignored him and continued down the stairs. When he got there, He found his mom and grandpa in front of the TV

"...And following a breaking news story, the Phantom Thief Dark has just left a note announcing that he was going to steal the painting "Symbol" currently on display at the Museum of Art..." Said a man on the news.

**_See, what did I tell you?_** Dark said smartly. Emiko noticed her son's arrival and turned to face him.

"I hope you didn't have anything planned." She said in a cheery voice. Daisuke sighed.

"I know better by mom." He said. "So why this painting? What kind of powers does it have?"

"Oh, it's nothing super duper important. But there is a possibility that its magic could be dangerous if the painting were ever damaged in anyway." She answered with a smile.

_That's not important?_ Daisuke thought while sweatdropping. He turned his attention back to the TV It had now changed from the news room to outside the museum, and Takeshi's dad was on the screen, being interviewed.

"There's no need to worry. We have it under control, there's no way that Dark's going to get that painting tonight." Said Inspector Saehara. "We're already in position; all we have to do is wait until 6:30..." At that Daisuke stopped listening and looked at the clock.

"Two hours huh? I hope he doesn't mind waiting..." He said. No sooner had the words escaped his mouth than the doorbell rang. "I'll get that I guess..." He said, noticing the blank expressions of his mother and grandfather as they watched the TV

He walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hello?" He answered. There in his doorway stood a girl. She looked about his age with short brown hair, purple streaks running through it. When she looked him in the eyes, He couldn't help but think that she looked familiar.

"Is this the Niwa residence?" She asked.

"Yes it is. Who are you?" Daisuke replied. The girl's eyes widened.

"Are you Daisuke?" She queried, excitement brightening her face. The red head nodded. "Oh Daisuke! You've grown so much!" She squealed happily, glomping him. Daisuke blushed as he toppled to the ground, her landing on top of him, hugging tightly.

"Dai? Who is it?" Emiko asked as she and Daiki entered the room to see the girl clinging to the blushing boy on the floor. Said girl looked up at the voice.

"Emiko!" She squealed again jumping up to hug the woman as well.

"M-mom! Who is that?" Daisuke asked as he got up still blushing.

"Hm, oh this is-" Emiko started.

"Haruko." Daiki finished. The other three turned to him. "She's come to help you Daisuke."

"Help me? With what?" Daisuke asked.

"With Dark, of course!" Haruko exclaimed. "He is still there right?" She asked, running back over to Daisuke and poking his head.

"Hey, how do you know about Dark!" He asked, surprised.

"Because I've been his partner in crime for nearly 100 years now!" She announced proudly. Daisuke blinked.

"100 years! But you're only as old as me!" He shouted, now deeply confused.

"Well, you see Dai, Haruko's not exactly human." Emiko told her son. He looked at her.

"Not human?" He looked back at Haruko. She looked perfectly normal. But then again, so did Dark, and he certainly wasn't human.

"Nope! I'm pretty much immortal." She said with a smile. However, Daisuke noticed something about her smile that seemed a little sad.

"Well then, exactly how old _are _you?" He asked.

"You should never ask a girl her age!" Haruko burst out, looking annoyed as she wagged a finger at him. "But if you must know, I'm about... 400, give or take a century." Daisuke sweatdropped.

"I see..." He said.

"But Haruko! You've come at the perfect time! Dark has a mission tonight. You can help Daisuke." Emiko piped up happily.

"Really? Tonight? Awesome! When?" Haruko asked excitedly.

"6:30." Daiki answered for his daughter. Haruko looked that clock.

"Cool! Two hours to unpack." She walked back to the doorway and grabbed her one suitcase and a school bag and made her way upstairs to the guest bedroom. Daisuke waited until she had disappeared from sight before turning to his mother and grandfather.

"Wha-?" He started, but Emiko cut him off.

"She was one of the first to love Dark." She said in a dreamy tone.

"The... first? But..."

"Like your mother said Daisuke, Haruko isn't human." Daiki started to explain. "When she met Dark, she followed him everywhere, even on missions. Eventually, he noticed and told her that she needed to stop for her own safety. When she told him about her immortality, he was skeptical at first, but to prove her point, she took a knife that she had with her and stabbed herself in the heart."

**_She scared the crap out of me that._** Dark said within Daisuke's head.

"After a few minutes, she was completely healed, as if nothing had happened. Even the stains on her clothes were gone. And ever since he's let her tag along with him on every theft since then." Daiki finished.

**_It's true._** Dark confirmed. Daisuke blinked. So this Haruko was the real deal.

"Well, what's she do between generations?" He queried.

"Whatever she feels like. I believe this last time she went to America." Emiko answered. "After I was born, she went to Europe I believe..."

"And that's another thing. What about when you were born mom? Dark wasn't around, so what did she do then?" Daisuke asked. His mother frowned for a fraction of a second before smiling.

"Oh, she still came back when I was fourteen. She stays until the next generation is born then leaves before she comes back when the child is fourteen." She answered. "Oh, I was so honored when she came to me even though she knew I was a girl. I mean, she could've just waited until I had you, but she actually came when I was of age! We became like sisters, it was so fun!" And off she went on a ramble.

"You'd better get ready Daisuke." Daiki said to his grandson. Daisuke looked up at him.

"Get ready? But I still have an hour and a half left." The boy pointed out.

"That may be true, but you should go get to know Haruko a little better. After all, she's going to be your partner for a while and your friend for even longer. You might as well start acting friendly." He smiled and tapped Daisuke's head. The boy smiled back.

"Sure Grandpa." He said as he took off up the stairs. Daiki watched the boy and sighed.

"Good luck. You'll need it to keep up with her." He muttered with a slightly sadistic smile.

**MOMENTS LATER!**

"Haruko?" Daisuke peeked through the door to see the girl hanging up some clothes in her closet. She cast a glance at him over her shoulder and smiled before turning back to her clothes.

"My room's changed. I used to have clothes in this closet, the ones I didn't have enough room to take with me. There's cobwebs all over the place too. And it smells a little musty. The carpeting's different too." She said as she hung up the last shirt. She then walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. She looked at Daisuke and beckoned him over. He obeyed and sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I've always wondered why we kept this room a guest room. I don't think anyone's ever slept here since you left. Not that I can remember when you left, but still." Daisuke said.

"Hm. Hey, did Dark tell you my story yet?" She asked, sounding livelier.

"Actually, grandpa did." Daisuke answered. "Did you really stab yourself in the heart to prove that you're immortal?"

"Yup!" She answered proudly.

"Why?"

"Because I loved Dark. I didn't want to be separated from him." She moved her gaze from Daisuke to her feet dangling off of the bed.

"Do you still love him?" He asked cautiously. She looked back up at him, a soft smile on her lips.

"I suppose a part of me still does. He's the only other one I've ever met who won't die from age alone. I'm not _in_ love with him anymore though, if that's what you mean. No, that faded a long time ago when I found out how big of a jerk he was." She answered, putting emphasis on the word "jerk".

**_Hey! _**Dark scoffed, insulted. Daisuke chuckled at his reaction. Haruko smiled as she got up and stood in front of a mirror. She picked up a brush and started brushing her hair. Daisuke saw this and his eyes got wide.

_She's the girl I painted!_ Daisuke thought. It was true. It was the same exact girl, the only difference was the purple streaks in her hair, the length of her hair, and her clothes.

**_See? What did I tell you Daisuke? _**Dark said for the second time that day. Haruko noticed Daisuke's expression in the mirror.

"Something wrong?" She asked. Daisuke blinked and shook his head.

"No, no. Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about it." He said, smiling. Haruko smiled back and continued brushing her hair.

* * *

Because I told Creyhie I'd do it.


	2. first theft

This chapter is actually very full of mistakes, so it's probably the worst. I could go through and correct them, but I'm too lazy.

* * *

A crowd of people was gathered outside the museum by 6:30, most were young women, all were waiting for the Phantom Thief Dark. He was late, however, because Daisuke and Haruko had been talking and completely lost track of time. Now, Dark and Haruko were sprinting towards the museum, bickering along the way.

"If you only had the brains to put a working clock in that damn room of yours-" He said.

"Hey, I just got back today! There was no way I would've had time to set that ancient thing!" She countered.

"Oh yeah, sure! You had an hour and a half, but you didn't do anything!" Dark argued.

"Hey, it was _your_ other who insisted on talking to me!" Haruko defended. Dark growled, ready to say something else, but the museum was now visible.

"Look, we can argue later! Just get to your ground spot! Wiz!" He shouted, and the rabbit thing that was Wiz transformed himself into black wings and he attached himself to Dark's back so the man could fly off as Haruko made a mad dash towards the museum.

**MEANWHILE!**

Takeshi Saehara paced just outside of the crowd of Dark fans, a digital camera around his neck.

"Where is he? I was hoping to get some pictures so I could sell them at school tomorrow..." He muttered. He was looking at the ground, so he didn't notice as a girl dashing up to the museum came straight toward him until it was too late.

The collision sent both teens flying backwards and left them both rubbing their heads. Takeshi looked up and saw her slowly standing up.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?" He asked, getting up himself.

"Maybe you should keep your eyes open from now on!" She yelled back.

"Well maybe you should look where you're going next time!" He shouted, rubbing his head. She put her hands on her hips.

"That must hurt." She said in a smart ass tone.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Takeshi growled. She sighed.

"Come here." With that, she walked over to him and kissed his forehead where it had collided with hers. He blushed, but then he noticed that the pain was gone.

"Hey thanks!" He said, but realized that he was talking to no one. He looked around, but didn't see her.

**MOMENTS LATER!**

Dark stood inside the museum, having snuck in successfully. As usual, the guards were no match for him.

**_So how's Haruko going to help us if she's outside?_** Daisuke asked from within Dark's mind.

_Oh, you'll see soon enough Daisuke. We may not even need her tonight. I mean, it's not like she's the most important asset I need to steal._ Dark said.

**_I heard that!_** Came a pissed off sounding voice. But it wasn't Daisuke's. It was Haruko's.

**_Wha-? How can she-?_** Daisuke stuttered, dumbfounded.

**_Oh, it's just another one of my tricks._** Haruko said.

**_You can enter people's minds!_** Daisuke exclaimed, suddenly very scared.

**_Yup, but don't worry. I don't abuse this power. I only use it when Dark's stealing something. So your private thoughts shall stay that way Daisuke._** Haruko assured him. He let out a sigh of relief. **_But, on to business. You do need me tonight Dark because the painting's on the move._**

"On the move? What the hell?" Dark said out loud. _Where's it going?_

**_Keep going straight and take the third left. _**Haruko answered. She was outside the museum, standing under a tree away from the crowd. She had both her eyes closed and one hand to her temple. This way, she had a birds eye view in her mind's eye and she could sense the magic of the painting and Dark. The images were so clear to her that she almost felt like she was inside the museum herself.

Meanwhile, inside, Dark did as he was told. He had just entered a room that was completely empty save for several large paintings hanging on the walls.

_DAMMIT HARUKO! YOU GAVE ME THE WRONG THE DIRECTIONS! _He mentally roared.

**_No I didn't! It's in the room! I can see its magic!_** Haruko defended.

_Are you sure it's not mine? _Dark asked.

**_I'm positive, you jerk! It's on the wall to your left!_** Haruko yelled. Dark looked to his left but saw only a blank wall.

_There's nothing there._ He told her.

**_Reach out and touch it, okay?_** She sighed. He did as he was told. When he touched the wall though, he was surprised to find the texture of an ornate frame.

"Well what do you know?" He said out loud as he grabbed it. The moment he took it off of the wall, the painting became visible. "Now to get this back home." And in a flash he was gone out of the room.

"Dark... my love..." Whispered a voice when he had left. A girl emerged from the shadows of a corner in the room. She was petite, and her long, light brown fell over her right eye. Her knee-length white dress fluttered with her movements and around her neck hung a necklace that seemed to have a gold, broken wing hanging from it. She touched the wing around her neck and disappeared.

**MEANWHILE!**

Haruko paced outside, waiting for Dark. When she heard the collective gasps from the crowd, she looked up. There was Dark Mousy, flying over everyone's heads, scanning the crowds for her. When he did, he nodded and she nodded back before he flew behind some trees where he could turn back into Daisuke peacefully. When he was gone, Haruko turned and left the museum, on her way back to the Niwa home.

**LATER!**

"So how did it go?" Emiko asked once the two teens returned home.

"Flawless of course!" Haruko announced proudly. Emiko smiled.

"That's good." She said before turning to her son. "Well what's your input? Did things go a little smoother?"

"Hm... Well I guess so. Or at least it would've been a lot more confusing if she hadn't helped us this time." He said, thinking about how the painting had moved.

"So? Do you have it?" Daiki asked as he entered the room.

"Yup!" Haruko said, grabbing the painting from Daisuke and handing it to the old man. He took it from her and examined it.

"Well, it looks in pretty good shape. No damage... Did it disappear on you at all?" He said as he looked at it.

"Well actually..." Daisuke started, but Haruko slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Nope, no problems at all! Now come on Daisuke, didn't you say that you were an artist? I want to see some of your work!" She said, grabbing the boy's arm and dragging him upstairs. Daiki and Emiko watched them, slightly confused.

"What was that for?" Daisuke asked once they were in his room. "Why wouldn't you let me tell grandpa what happened?"

"Daisuke, you don't understand. This was my first time in a long time that I've helped Dark steal something. I don't want him to think that skipping a generation of stealing has left me rusty." She admitted.

"Is that all?" Daisuke sighed. "That's a pretty lame excuse."

"Well it's true!" She defended.

"Well obviously he expected it to disappear, and you didn't have any trouble finding it so-"

"You just don't understand Daisuke." Haruko sighed before walking over to the door. "I'm going to bed now. School in the morning and all."

"What? School?" Daisuke exclaimed surprised. She looked back at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah. I enrolled myself in your school. I start tomorrow." She said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because that's what I do!" she answered, walking out.

A few hours later, Daisuke lied on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His mind was running full of questions about Haruko. Why did she come just now, so long after he had gotten Dark? Why did she still want to help him, even after all these years? Why was she going to attend his school? Why was she able to talk to him and Dark telepathically? How was she able to sense magic? What other things could she do? And, the biggest question hovering in his mind, since she wasn't human, what in the world was she? These questions were what eventually led him to sleep as they ran through his brain.

* * *

Omgshortchapter!D: I'll try to make the next one longer.

Peoples, I am COMMANDING you all to read Creyhie's DNAngel fan fic. She refuses to update hers until she gets 20 reviews. She doesn't care what it says just so long as you _review_. Even if it's a flame or you telling her that I COMMANDED you to review. I like the story (personally, I think it's her best yet), and she left it at an uber cliffhanger! Please? Do it for me? Come on, she's that mysterious girl I randomly stuck in the end of this chapter! PLEASE!


	3. school

The next morning, Haruko was nudged awake by a small, cold, slightly wet something prodding at her nose.

"Go away..." She grumbled sleepily as she pulled the covers over her face.

"Kyuu...?" chirped a high pitched voiced. Haruko merely grumbled and shifted a bit under her covers in response.

"Kyuu!" yelled the voice as it bit Haruko's ear.

"Ouch! What the he-" She sat bolt upright and saw an annoyed Wiz lying in her lap. On impulse she looked at the clock.

"Geh! I'm gonna be late!" She shouted, jumping out of bed and into her closet. A moment of scuffling later, she tumbled out, fully dressed in her school uniform. She grabbed Wiz and ran downstairs where she saw Daisuke eating breakfast while Daiki sat next to him, reading the paper.

"Some things never change, eh Haruko?" Daiki laughed. The girl glared at him.

"Whatever. Where's Emiko?" she asked noticing the woman's absence.

"She wasn't feeling well, so she's still asleep." Daisuke answered.

"Hm. I hope she's all right. Anyway, Daisuke, we gotta go." Haruko said, stealing Daisuke's last piece of toast and sticking it in her mouth.

"Hey!" He responded, looking at her, annoyed.

"Do you want to be late or not?" She asked, having already let go of Wiz and picking up her school bag.

"Wha? But... Ugh, fine." He sighed, defeated.

**_She's annoying isn't she?_** Dark said in a know-it-all tone. Daisuke ignored him; he didn't feel like putting up with Dark this early.

They walked halfway to school in silence until it started bugging Haruko.

"You know, it's weird." She spoke up. "It seems like I just saw you as infant, but now I'm walking with you to your school. And I'm going to have all the same classes with you. I'm going to be the classmate of a boy who I watched being born."

"You're crazy." Daisuke said, in an almost affectionate way. She just smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You have no right to talk. You should've seen yourself as a baby." And then she was off, telling him the stories of his childhood. He had been told these same stories before by his mom and grandpa, but he had never really paid that much attention. Now he was being told these stories by someone who seemed to be his own age, and he was paying full attention. He didn't know why he suddenly actually cared, but he did.

When they finally got to school, Haruko smiled.

"It's good to be back." She said. And with that, she and Daisuke walked to their first period class.

Inside, Takeshi Saehara was making a big deal about some pictures of Dark he had taken the night before and was surrounded by a crowd of girls. When Daisuke and Haruko walked in, the girl noticed the crowd and pushed her way through to the boy.

"What's this about Dark pictures?" She asked Takeshi. He looked at her.

"Would you like some?" He asked, holding one in front of her face. She grabbed it and examined it. "Really high quality," he bragged, "Probably some of the best I've taken yet."

"Some of the best computer imaging I've seen in awhile." Haruko admitted. Takeshi snatched back the photo from her hand.

"What do you mean 'computer imaging'?" he asked suspiciously.

"They're not real." Haruko pointed out. She grabbed her picture again and pointed at different spots. "Well first off, you made the hair blue. If anything, it's more purple. Also the shadows on his face don't match the direction of the ones on his clothes. And the wings have no shadowing at all."

The girls holding pictures already looked at theirs and either nodded or mumbled in agreement. Takeshi looked slightly scared at being found out.

"W-what are you talking about? Th-these are so real! I was there last night!" He defended.

"Yeah, I know you were. I was there, remember? I ran into you." Haruko said, not looking up from the picture.

"Wait, that was you!" Takeshi asked, startled.

"Yeah, who did you think it was?" she responded, still not looking up. By now, the girls had started leaving to converse with their friends, taking their pictures with them.

"But you... You ki-" before he could finish, the bell rang and the teacher came in.

"Sit down, sit down." The teacher said. The students obeyed. "Now, as you can all see, we have a new student. Asakura Haruko." Haruko stood in front of the class, inwardly giggling at the false surname she had given the school.

"Now Asakura-san, would you please introduce yourself?" The teacher requested. Haruko let out a small sigh and mechanically gave the short introduction speech that she had used over the years when she began attending the schools of the Niwas.

"Hi. Obviously, my name's Haruko and I don't like talking in front of large groups." She said simply. The teacher looked at her.

"That's all?" She asked.

"Yup." Haruko answered.

"All right then. You'll sit next to Harada-san. I mean Risa. Risa-san, please raise your hand." The teacher said. The younger Harada raised her hand. Haruko nodded and took the empty seat next to the girl.

"Hi." Said the Harada. Haruko smiled and responded with a "hi".

_So this is the girl Daisuke likes, hm?_ Haruko thought with a smirk. She turned her attention back to the teacher.

About half way into the period, Haruko noticed a note on her desk. She looked at the Harada who smiled. Haruko cocked a brow and read the note.

"Hi there Haruko! What's up? Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. Hey, where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?" it said. Haruko smiled and replied, telling her that she was from America. A few minutes later, the note had reappeared on her desk.

"America? Wow, too cool! I've always wanted to go there. But anyway, if you don't mind me asking (again), what's your relation to Daisuke? Are you doing a foreign exchange thing at his house or something? Because I noticed that you two came to school together." she wrote. Haruko lied and said that they were cousins. When the note came back to her, it had a long babble about Dark Mousy. Haruko nearly laughed out loud and wrote back that he wasn't as great as she seemed to think. She didn't get the note back after that.

Eventually, it came time for lunch. Haruko seeked out Daisuke and grabbed his arm when she saw him. Or, at least, when she thought she saw him.

"Yo, Daisuke. Come on, let's eat." She said to the boy.

"Hey, I'm not Daisuke." said boy replied. He turned out to be Takeshi.

"Whoops. My bad. Can you tell me where I can find him?" She asked. He shrugged.

"He's probably in the art room. He likes painting for some reason. He's really good at it though-"

"That's nice. Do you think you could take me to him?" She asked. Takeshi shook his head.

"Nah, just leave him. He'll come out sooner or later. He almost always does before lunch is over anyway. Besides, I'd like to talk to you." He finished the last sentence looking her directly in the eye with a stern expression, but a slight blush to his cheeks.

"Sure, whatever." Haruko replied with a smirk before walking off with him. When they got outside, they sat on a bench and looked at each other.

"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Haruko asked.

"Well, first I want to start off by saying that I think we got off on the wrong foot. Like last night, for instance. You ran into me... literally... and I got mad. And then you got mad. And then... well..." His voice suddenly trailed off as his face grew red.

"And then, well, what?" Haruko asked, wanting to hear the rest.

"Well, you kinda... k-kissed me." He finished, suddenly unable to look at her.

"But it made your forehead feel better, right?" She said, completely unruffled. The casual tone of her voice made Takeshi look up at her. He examined her face. Her expression hadn't changed in the least and there wasn't any additional color to her cheeks. So either she was really good at hiding her feelings or the incident hadn't bothered her at all, like it was the kind of thing she did a lot.

"Yeah, I guess, but-" Takeshi continued.

"Well then what's the problem?" Haruko interrupted, an innocent expression decorating her face. This only served to make Takeshi even more nervous. She was acting like it was nothing. He decided to change the subject.

"Well, anyway, why were you there last night? Are you into Dark or something? I mean, you critiqued my pictures so harshly..." He said, able to look into her eyes once more. She smirked at his question.

"I guess you could say I'm Dark's biggest fan." She answered. He felt his heart drop for some reason unbeknownst to him. "I know everything about him and I'm there every time he has something to steal. Do an internet search for Dark Mousy and I can guarantee you that most of the legit stuff you find can be rooted to information I leaked out."

Takeshi sat there, stunned by her rant. It took him a moment to regain his senses.

"So I guess you're pretty obsessed with the guy." He said. _Just like all the other girls at school..._

"Oh, I don't think obsessed even begins to cover it." She laughed. "I mean, if you want to look at it that way. But it's not like the other girls at this school. They _love_ him. I know better than that. He's actually quite an ass."

"You talk like you know him." Takeshi pointed out, wondering how she knew what he had just been thinking.

"Oh, I've met him once or twice..." She said in a mischievous tone, trying to sound like she was hiding something.

And so for the rest of the lunch period, Takeshi and Haruko were engaged in conversation about everything from Dark Mousy to Haruko's time in America to Takeshi's obsession with journalism. At one point, Daisuke came out of the art room to eat with his friends, but when he saw them talking with each other, he decided to leave them alone and go spend the rest of lunch with Masahiro.

**LATER!**

After school, Daisuke had been held up by one of his teachers and had told Haruko to start heading home by herself. She did as she was told and started to leave. She was almost off of the campus when she heard a voice behind her.

"Haruko-san of twelve stars." it said. She stopped, but didn't turn.

"I see you know my nickname." She said, slowly turning around. There stood Hiwatari Satoshi. "Tell me, how's Krad been these days?"

_How does she...?_ He thought but ignored it.

"It's about time you showed yourself. I kind of missed Krad last generation. And I'm just itching for a rematch." Haruko told the boy in a menacing tone.

"I'm not here to pick a fight with you, Haruko." Satoshi told her. She raised an eyebrow. "I just want to talk to you. About Krad."

"Okay." Haruko said, suspicious. She and Satoshi left together.

"You see, Krad is more dangerous than ever now. He's told me about you-" Satoshi started.

"As he should have. I was very disappointed when I found out that Dark didn't tell Daisuke a thing about me until I got here-" Haruko interrupted.

"I'm being serious here!" Satoshi cut her off. She was silenced immediately. "Look, Krad told me about your battle with each other last time you two met, and how you lost, miserably. Even for someone immortal, he said it took a toll on you. And he says he knows what to expect from you this time, he says he's ready to finish you off, once and for all."

"And why would you care?" She asked, her voice sounding sad and serious. "You don't even know me. I can see you caring for Daisuke, you two were probably together longer." Her frown had turned to a sad smile. "But I just showed up in your life today. And as nothing more than the girl you saw in class who you just happen to know is Dark's partner. This is the first time we've even spoken." There was a momentary silence.

"I just don't want to hurt anyone." Satoshi said quietly. Haruko cast a glance at him. "I have to go now." And with that he turned down a street and was gone.

_What a strange boy._ She thought as she continued on her way. She had only gotten a few steps farther, however, when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She whipped around, ready to attack whoever it was, but saw that it was a panting Daisuke, holding himself up by her shoulder.

"Did you run this whole way?" She asked, her voice having a tone of "you poor, pathetic loser" in it. He nodded meekly and she laughed. "Come on." She said, putting his arm around her shoulders so she could help him walk. After a few blocks, Daisuke was feeling better and started walking on his own. It took him another minute to fully catch his breath so he could ask her:

"What were you talking to Satoshi about?" She looked at him and frowned for a fraction of a second before smiling.

"Oh, just this and that." She waved off, not wanting to worry Daisuke. He believed her and shrugged as they walked to his house.

But it wasn't just Daisuke she was trying not to worry, it was Satoshi too. She knew that Krad was more dangerous than ever and she knew that he wanted to fight her again. She had tried not to sound worried, but the fact was that she was scared. Very scared. She knew something was going to happen soon that could very well be the end of her. Krad had nearly found out how to kill her last time they fought and this time... Well, she knew he had had enough time to figure it out. And now that he knew, he wouldn't hesitate to end her life if given the chance.

* * *

Yeah, I know it took me while, I apologize. Stuff going on. But now school's over so I will get more of a chance to write! Thanks for stickin' with me because I know it sucks, and I know I'm lazy and I may change that idiotic nickname for Haruko. But thank you for reading! Every review that's not a flame warms me up a bit inside and inspires me to write faster. Thanks! 


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